


Art School Boyfriend

by matteblackbats



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Angst, Nostalgia, Omelettes, The MCR Breakup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matteblackbats/pseuds/matteblackbats
Summary: Gerard grins at that. “You and me both, man.” He pauses, momentarily. “What about me?”Ray is moving his hand in small circles on Gerard’s back, comforting. “What about you?”“What me do you picture?” Gerard asks softly. “When someone brings me up?”
Relationships: Ray Toro/Gerard Way
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	Art School Boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a songfic but I got lost somewhere on the way, lmao. It's set specifically in October of 2013. Title and inspo from Art School Girlfriend by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

Ray wakes up confused. He sits up slowly, running his hand through his hair to get it out of his face. He’s on the floor of his living room, the hardwood of the floor pressing uncomfortably against his tailbone. He must have fallen asleep on the couch and rolled off at some point last night. The TV is on, muted, running a special. The government is shutting down because some republican pissbaby won’t pass the budget over Obamacare.

“That’s just real fuckin’ great.” He mumbles as he slowly gets to his feet. He stretches his arms above his head, feeling a couple of things pop in his spine. “You’re getting too fuckin’ old to sleep on the floor, man.” He grumbles to himself. 

He jumps when the doorbell rings. A quick glance at the clock tells him its half-past ten, not an unreasonable time for a visitor, but the problem is he wasn’t expecting anyone. He’s wearing a thin t-shirt, two sizes too small and almost seethrough with age, and his boxers. Oh well. He shuffles to the door and yanks it open, expecting a UPS package or a disgruntled neighbor. That’s not who’s there, though. 

It’s Gerard. Gerard is the last person Ray was expecting at his door. It’s been seven months since the band’s breakup, and they’ve talked, of course, civil niceties over text, but nothing like what it was before. Ray looks him up and down. He’s wearing a soft-looking, pumpkin orange cardigan over a grey t-shirt and light wash jeans. His hair is fluffy and natural, and he’s got a pair of horn-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He looks nothing like what someone would expect of _Gerard Way_ from _My Chemical Romance._ He looks more like what he looked like back in school, all those years ago, when Gerard was _Gerry_ , the comic book guy. It throws Ray for such a loop he doesn’t realize he’s staring until Gerard speaks. 

“Hey, man. I brought breakfast?” He lifts his right arm to show a plastic takeout bag with a few boxes in it, and a drink carrier with two coffees. Ray shakes his head to clear it and steps back, motioning Gerard in the door. Gerard flashes him a wide smile as he walks in the door. 

“I’m uh, I’m gonna go put some pants on.” Ray studders out, gesturing at his lower half. “You can uh, set the food down if you want. You know where everything is, right?” Gerard nods, and Ray turns on his heel to duck into his room. 

His bedroom is a little sad if he’s being honest with himself. It’s dim, clothes all over the floor, and the bed a mess of rumpled sheets. He can’t remember the last time he made it. He snags a pair of jeans off the floor and pulls them on. Hopefully, they’re not too dirty, but even if they are, he knows Gerard isn’t gonna say anything. Ray sighs as he pulls the zip up and buttons them. He has no clue what Gerard is doing here. It’s not an unwelcome intrusion, but certainly a confusing one. He sighs and then walks softly back into the living room. 

Gerard is curled up on his couch, his feet tucked beneath him. He’s flipping through a magazine, and when Ray flops down next to him on the couch, he sees that it’s a new Fader. Trent Reznor is staring obnoxiously from the cover. 

“This picture makes him look like such a douchebag,” Gerard says. “Which, to be fair, he is, but that’s not the point I don’t think.” 

Ray rolls his head back and stares at the ceiling. “All magazine covers make people look like douchebags. What’d you bring to eat?” 

Gerard blinks momentarily before startling and tossing the magazine onto Ray’s coffee table. “Oh! I brought omelettes from that place uptown. You still like peppers and sausage, right?” Ray nods as Gerard reaches for the take out bag, pulling a styrofoam box out and handing it to Ray. They eat in amicable silence, enjoying each other’s presence before Ray says anything. 

Ray swigs a mouthful of the coffee to steel himself. “Why are you here, Gee?”

Gerard pauses from where he was cutting his omelette with his fork momentarily, before continuing, keeping his eyes on his food. “I’m not sure, really. I’ve missed you, though.” He says softly, unsure. 

Ray swallows another mouthful of coffee. “We talk like every other day though. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic to see you, but you could’ve given me a heads up.” 

Gerard sighs. “It’s not the same though, is it? It feels so off.” 

Ray shoves the last bite of his omelette in his mouth before answering. “It’s not gonna be the same, man. Not for a while, at least. We broke, and we broke a lot. It’s not unfixable, but its gonna take a while to fix.” 

“I guess so,” Gerard answers as he shuts his takeout box and lays it on the coffee table. “I don’t miss it, I don’t think. Not yet, at least. I’m always gonna be that guy, and I love that, love everything it’s given me, but sometimes it just feels like too much. I hate that I’ve pushed you away. I hate that Frank is so mad at me, that Mikey is so upset about it all. But what else would they be? It was our lifeblood. For all of us.” Gerard pauses, his eyes still firmly fixed on the floor. “Sorry for coming over and being a bummer. I didn’t mean too. I really did come just because I missed you.” 

“Hey,” Ray says. “Don’t worry about it. There’s only three other people in the whole world who know what it feels like. I’ve missed you too, for the record.” Ray scoots over, getting an arm around Gerard, meaning for it to be a small hug, but Gerard leans his whole weight into it, and the two of them tumble back onto the couch. 

Ray is flat on his back, with Gerard on top of him, his arms around Gerard’s shoulders. Gerard has his chin on Ray’s sternum and has his head tilted back so he can look through his glasses where the had slipped down his nose to the very tip. 

Ray snorts at him. “You look like your brother. What’s with the glasses, anyway?”

Gerard cracks a smile. “Found out I needed them recently. Apparently, I’m like, insanely nearsighted. Besides, Mikey hasn’t worn his glasses like that in like, 15 years.” 

Ray huffs a laugh. “I know, man. I just, I think I’m always gonna picture him as that kid. Gangly limbed and insane hair, even though I know he’s not anymore.” 

Gerard grins at that. “You and me both, man.” He pauses, momentarily. “What about me?”

Ray is moving his hand in small circles on Gerard’s back, comforting. “What about you?” 

“What me do you picture?” Gerard asks softly. “When someone brings me up?” 

Ray considers the question for a moment. “Probably similar to Mikey. Around when I first met you. That guy with the big coat no matter the weather and the encyclopedic knowledge of everything Grant Morrison had ever written.” 

Gerard smiles, soft and sincere. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Ray says. He shifts his hand so he can push Gerard’s glasses up, running his finger down the bridge of Gerard’s nose before tapping the tip. It makes Gerard giggle. 

“You didn’t ask,” Gerard says, “But I’m gonna tell you anyway.” He turns his head so he can lay down, pressing his ear to Ray’s chest. “It’s the same for me. You had those silver wire glasses that you wore all the time, and those navy blue Asics. Like, every day without fail.” 

Ray shakes his head softly, moving his hand so he can play with Gerard’s hair. “I can’t believe you remember that.” 

Gerard hums softly before continuing. “When we used to get coffee before class on Fridays you would get honey in your latte because you said real sugar made your stomach hurt. When it would get cold, your right knee popped when you went up or downstairs. You also bit popsicles, you absolute psychopath.” 

Ray blinks, a little stunned. “Wow,” He says softly. “I, yeah. Why do you remember all of that?” 

Gerard turns his head, presses his face into Ray’s chest, and mumbles something unintelligible.

“Huh?” 

Gerard tilts his face to the side so his voice isn’t muffled. “I had a crush on you.” He whispers. 

Ray tugs gently at Gerard’s hair until he lifts his head. Once Ray can look Gerard in the eye, he cranes his neck and presses his lips softly against Gerard’s. Gerard moves into it, clearly intent on making the kiss deeper, but then his glasses slip off the end of his nose from where they had fallen again. The lens smushes Ray’s nose flat before Gerard jerks back, watching them fall onto Ray’s chest before sliding off onto the floor. 

They both stare at the frames for a moment before Ray bursts into bright peels of laughter that light up the room. Gerard starts laughing too, the situation stupid and unbelievable and amazing. 

“Aren’t we supposed to be rockstars?” Ray asks through giggles. “Like, isn’t this shit supposed to come naturally to us?” 

Gerard snorts. “If it was, I don’t think it would have taken me thirteen years to man up and kiss you.” 

“Hey,” Ray says, cupping Gerard’s face in his hand, and giving Gerard a shit-eating grin. “You didn’t. I kissed you.” 

“Oh my god.” Gerard groans out. “You’re the worst. Shut up.” He ducks down to kiss Ray again. It’s a chaste kiss, all things considered. When Gerard pulls back for air, his eyes are weirdly serious. “Did you mean it?” He asks. 

“Mean what?” Ray responds.

“What you said earlier. That it wasn’t unfixable.” Gerard’s eyes are huge, hopeful.

“I think so,” Ray says earnestly. “But it’s gonna take a few years, at least. Patience is key to this kind of thing, I think.” 

“Okay. Yeah. You’re right.” Gerard pauses, thoughtful. “What about this?” He asks, gesturing at the two of them. “How long is this gonna take? What are we, now?”

Ray grins a wide, fearless smile at him. “Not that long. As for what we are, do you wanna take some time and figure it out?”

Gerard matches his grin at that. “I think I have an opening or two in my schedule.”

**Author's Note:**

> Gerard actually did go by Gerry in art school, and I think he even published his first comic under "Gerry Way." If I have to live with that cursed info, so do y'all, lmao. As usual, comments are always appreciated! :)


End file.
